GLOBAL JUSTICE: One Thousand Rally Against the FTAA in Boston as Trade Talks Stall in Miami

by Matthew Williams

22 Nov 2003

<img src="http://images.indymedia.org/imc/boston/dcp_0027mod-thumb.jpg" alt="rally at Boylston St." border="0" align="right">At 4:00 on November 21, 2003, 500 people joined a march against the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), starting at Boylston St. T-station in Boston and wending our way through Boston?s shopping district to arrive in Copley Square at 5:00 to join another 500 people for a final rally. Our protests were in solidarity with the protests and direct actions in Miami, where the trade representatives of all the countries of the Americas (except Cuba) were meeting to negotiate the FTAA. This so-called free trade agreement would result in devastating job losses for all countries, allow corporations to sue governments to overturn environmental protection and labor laws, and force governments to privatize basic public services. While the activists in Miami faced strong police repression, the talks nonetheless stalled--they were called to a close a day early, with all the difficult issues being sent back to committee unresolved.<br>
[ <a href=http://boston.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=18548&group=>full story</a> | <a href=http://ftaaimc.org/en/2003/11/1768.shtml>photos</a> | <a href=http://boston.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=18551&group=>more photos</a> ]<br>
Local organizing efforts:<br>
[ <a href=http://www.bostonglobalaction.net/ftaa.html>Boston Fair Trade Action</a> | <a href=http://www.massjwj.net/>Massachusetts Jobs with Justice</a> ]<br>
Additional resources:<br>
[ <a href=http://ftaaimc.org>Miami FTAA IMC</a> | <a href=http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/ftaa/>Global Exchange</a> | <a href=http://www.citizen.org/trade/>Public Citizen</a> | <a href=http://boston.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=18614&group=>prisoner support</a> ]<br>
FTAA Diary--Reports from a Boston IMC reporter in Miami:<br>
[ <a href=http://boston.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=18319&group=webcast>Nov. 15</a> | <a href=http://boston.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=18398&group=webcast>Nov. 16</a> | <a href=http://boston.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=18433&group=>Nov. 17</a> | <a href=http://boston.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=18579&group=>Nov. 18</a> ]